What makes a country a country? What makes a state a state? A nation a nation? And what’s to stop you from starting your own? In a globe-hopping search for an answer to these fundamental but little understood questions of sovereignty, HOW TO START YOUR OWN COUNTRY visits six micronations—unrecognized self-declared sovereign entities that you will not find on a political map. Shapiro’s documentary mixes comedy and compassion with a serious analysis of the concept of statehood and citizenship.